Monday, November 7, 2011

If someone calls your green bean casserole “soupy,” it’s usually not a compliment. Here though, it’s completely appropriate. I wanted to rework the iconic Thanksgiving side dish, and wondered what would happen if I brought in some of the tastes and textures that make French onion soup such a favorite.

Somewhat strangely, the final product didn’t remind me at all of French onion soup, but was quite delicious nonetheless, and would certainly be well received around your holiday table. Caramelized onions and melted Gruyere cheese are never a bad idea together, and would make for a great alternative to the old, canned fried onion-topped version.

One small change I would make next time, and that I’ve added to the ingredients list, is a small splash of sherry vinegar added to the onion mixture. As you hardcore foodwishers know, that is the secret ingredient in our famous French onion soup recipe, and I believe it would have better balanced out the sweetness of the dish.

Of course, it goes without saying that you can use just about any cheese you like, and a nice sharp cheddar would definitely work very well here. Anyway, as you start to put together your Thanksgiving menu, I hope you keep this “soupy” side dish in mind. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the onions:

2 tbsp butter

2 or 3 yellow onions, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp sherry vinegar (stirred into the onions after they are caramelized)

I was just thinking that I can't believe people still make that old tired green bean casserole with canned onions on top. This recipe looks yummy ... adding it to my Thanksgiving menu. I just found this site a couple of weeks ago, and have already tried 3 of Chef's delicious recipes.

It is like you read my mind this year, Chef. I have a guilty secret of actually liking the tired old beans but I gave up Campbell's soups along with all other processed c**p years ago and had not found a good substitute (seems like it shouldn't be that hard.) The caramelized onions in this with the cheese look like just what I was looking for. I attend a large gathering for Thanksgiving and I think I found my offering this year.

Hi Chef, I'm your fan (from Brazil). We do not celebrate thanksgiving, but I got so excited about this recipe that I had to try it. I posted the result on my blog (though it was not so good looking as yours) and linked your recipe (for credits, you know). A friendly good old tapa tapa. ^^

this sounds like a much more tastier version of the green bean dish especially with the Gruyere cheese added in and made with fresh green beans. I had to come to this blog so i could get the written recipe to keep a copy to try it with

I can't wait to try this! I think traditional green bean casserole is boring and have been wanting to try something new. I also wanted to make French onion soup for the first time recently, but never got around to it. Thanks for a recipe that combines my needs! I am a wannabe foodie that writes a blog about learning to cook by trying new recipes, and I'd love to give this one a shot. May I write a post about it and link back to this wonderful post?

this looks and sounds so delicious that i'm making it tonight. however i don't have sherry vinegar so i'm using apple cider vinegar instead.hopefully this won't make a big difference in taste and i omitted the cayenne. don't have any anyway.so i'll post later about how this turned out for me.everyone have a great day! :)

Hello Chef John, I made this recipe today to make sure it would work for Thanksgiving. It turned out GREAT! I was not able to find Guyere cheese, so I tried Havarti cheese. Not too bad. Thank you for the recipe. Now I will look for the Guyere cheese to use.

Hi chef! Some questions...1. Can I substitue the sherry vinegar with actual dry sherry wine?2. What do u think abt adding mushrooms, would it work? If so, would shitake be a good choice? And, at what stage would I incorporate it?Thanks!!

It's going to be a Chef John Thanksgiving at our house tomorrow! I'm preparing the turkey the "Chef John way", I'm having the French Onion Green Bean Casserole, The Apricot/Roasted Pecan Dressing, the Sweet Potato Casserole with Pistachio crust and of course, mashed potatoes the Chef John way! (I even bought the right masher just for the occasion!...got rid of the old masher with the squares in it.)

Hi, I will be making this in the morning. I couldn't find sherry vinegar. I saw from your comment that white wine vinegar is an OK substitute. I bought red wine vinegar and I have sherry, ... I was thinking of using a bit of each. What do you advise? Thanks.

Hi Chef John,Love your videos! I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! We are living in Costa Rica and couldn't find sherry, sherry vinegar or Gruyere cheese so I omitted the sherry and used cheddar cheese. Still delicious. I'm going to try your Pumpkin no-knead bread in the next couple of days. Can't wait!Gloria

Review of French Onion Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole. I made both of these dishes for this Thanksgiving (2011) and they were excellent! Thanks John for these superb versions; far superior to any recipe I have tried so far. These will remain on my company dinner and holiday menu lists. Thanks again!

EXCELLENT !!! is the only way to describe the way this came out for my Thanksgiving dinner. I was a little hesitate to blanch the green beans., so I cooked them down a bit. Otherwise I followed and didnt omit anything else and it was a hit ! Thanks for sharing Chef.

I made this casserole 4 times during Thanksgiving season. Every time it was for different group (not counting my husband :)) Every time it turned out good in spite my ability to mess up recipes! My self-esteam is on the rise!

Hi Chef John, thanks for all your help, I made The French onion Green Beans casserole on Thanksgiving Day and it came out so good, that is why I am going to do it again fro Christmas. You're videos are awesome and I like the way you show everything. Thanks again and all the best.

Yes, I will be doing this for Christmas dinner as well. When I was in buying the cheese for our thanksgiving dinner, they had some smoked Gruyere at almost half the price, so I opted for that. Since I do the cooking on my Bubba Keg Grill, the smoked cheese went really well with the taste of the bird.

I'm fast becoming your biggest fan. Have tried three of your recipes so far and been completely delighted with the results. Never been a fan of green bean casserole, though. Yours, however, looks so yummy I've just got to try it.

I served this yesterday at our Christmas dinner. Actually I put it together the day before and baked it before dinner next day. It was a hit! And I have just emailed the recipe to my son who told me more than once how much he liked it. Thank you for this recipe.

Just made this as a tester before Thanksgiving. My husband HATES green beans in all forms but loved this. I can see that you could make most of this or maybe even all of this ahead of time so you don't have to be stressing Thanksgiving morning. Anyway it's a hit and I'll be taking it to dinner Thursday!

Made three batches of this for a huge thanksgiving gathering! The sauce and onions make it delicious and savory, but I really feel the secret ingredient is the BUTTER IN EVERY PART OF THIS RECIPE.Happy Thanksgiving, Chef John!!

I made green bean casserole for Thanksgiving and it was not good. Second try was more like this recipe, but French cut beans, cream of mushroom, and French's Fried Onions for the topper did not work. Now that I found this I will follow this recipe next time but will stay with the 4 oz. Velvetta I incorporated, then it has to be a can't-miss.

Chef John, I've always wondered where you got that great piano theme music for your videos. I love it! Did someone write the music especially for you or is it taken from a song already written? Just made the green bean caserole and it is delicious! Much better than the original one made with the canned soup and fried onions. Thanks ounce again for a delicious recipe and a great step by step video guide. You are a great teacher!

I was looking for something to have at our Christmas dinner instead of the old soggy green bean fare and came across this great recipe. I must say it was a tremdous hit and will become a staple at our family gatherings!

I just want you to know that since I started watching your cooking videos I have been rescued from not wanting to ever cook again to picking up the old spatula and saying "I can do this!" You make cooking seem a joy instead of the "oh no not again!" syndrome. It felt good to see the smiles on my families faces when they bit into the green been cassarole and the best ever pumpkin pie! Thanks again for inspirering an old gal back from the brink of the dreaded precooked frozen meal affair.

will this work if I make it the day before-- the assembly - and then cook it the next (thanksgiving) day? I have it ready for the oven right now, but am wondering if re-heating a second time will take away from the textures.

CJ, Just seeing this recipe today. Looks wonderful and can't wait to try it this coming weekend at a non-holiday nosh-fest that I've been invited to. I must comment, though, that your non-Southern-ness was very apparent in this video. I, and most Southern cooks that I know, would not dream of chopping off the pointy ends of the green beans! WHY?? Especially if making our ever favorite green beans and Irish potatoes!! Thank you for all you do!